


Dearly Departed

by Rainieva



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Black Mask Spoilers, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon-Typical Violence, End-Game spoilers, First Kiss, He's not really dead (I promise), Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, Im sure you can guess why, Let Sakamoto Ryuji Say Fuck, M/M, Mild Language, Temporary Character Death, vanilla persona 5 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27910864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainieva/pseuds/Rainieva
Summary: The sky was dark with large grey clouds and a slight drizzle of rain had set in, giving the gloomy day an even more fittingly ominous tone to the day. Ryuji Sakamato watched the storm move in, checking the sports watch on his wrist for the time. It brought back memories; bittersweet memories of a time before things got complicated.~~~Or, Ryuji has to attend Akira's (fake) funeral.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Dearly Departed

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops, I was working on other stuff and this prompt just kinda jumped into my lap? I almost immediately thought of these boys and couldn't do anything until I finished this little thing.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The sky was dark with large grey clouds and a slight drizzle of rain had set in, giving the gloomy day an even more fittingly ominous tone to the day. Ryuji Sakamato watched the storm move in, checking the sports watch on his wrist for the time. It brought back memories; bittersweet memories of a time before things got complicated.

He stood outside the funeral home in black slacks and a black dress shirt bought specifically for the occasion as he didn't have anything else suitable for such an event.

Ryuji was waiting for the arrival of the rest of his friends. While Futaba was already inside with her guardian, Sojiro Sakura, Ann, Yusuke and Haru were meeting together on the train. The blond sighed, anxiety and fear stabbing at him from beneath his sternum. Surely, everything would be fine. However, his resolve was quickly fading in his time to ruminate in his thoughts.

"Sorry we're late." Ann's greeting lacked its usual bubbly cadence.

She wore a simple A-line black dress that stopped just above her knees and a pair of heels while Haru's ruffled black top and skirt over black tights and boots looked much more expensive. Yusuke had on - what Ryuji guessed to be - his black uniform pants and a simple white dress shirt and black tie. Ryuji had consciously neglected wearing a tie. 

"Don't worry 'bout it. Ya ready?" He asked, motioning to the door with uncertainty tainting his words.

"As we'll ever be." Haru's lips pressed into a line, worry playing on her features.

The four of them opened the heavy mahogany door to a lobby and made their way into the main viewing room. The dull room was practically silent and only a few figures were scattered amongst the seats. Futaba and Sojiro sat in the very front row, Morgana quietly perched in the young hacker's lap. Ryuji recognized a few of the faces as people he'd only briefly met, including the airsoft shop owner and that back-alley doctor. Part of him started to get angry at the empty seats but he quickly calmed himself down with hollow reassurances.

Finally, he eyes landed on the open casket sitting at the head of the room down the long center aisle. His breathing caught in his windpipe at the sight of the young, pale form of Akira Kurusu, supposed leader of the ever elusive Phantom Thieves. He was normally fairly pale but the almost sickly blue-ish tint to his skin made Ryuji tense painfully. He was wearing a simple black suit and lay perfectly still against the padded cloth interior.

Ryuji glanced towards the others to see they were going through many of the same emotions as him. Haru had stopped in the threshold, hands reaching up to cover her mouth in shock. Ann had slowed, staying at Haru's side, her face contorted painfully in sadness. Lastly Yusuke, despite his best efforts, had balled his fists at his sides and his brows creased deeply at the sight. 

Slowly, they made their way to the front of the room to where Sojiro, Futaba and Morgana were sitting. Sojiro gave them a sympathetic but understanding nod but Futaba gazed down at her lap, big eyes rimmed with red from crying. Ryuji found it impossible to keep from glancing back up at the open casket, pain in his chest radiating into the rest of his body with each look. After a few moments, Sojiro patted Futaba's hand before standing and taking a spot behind the podium centered in the front of the room.

Sojiro began talking - slow and careful at times. He talked about how Akira helped him in his cafe and how he helped him connect with his daughter. He talked about how they met and how foolish he felt treating him like a nuisance. He then invited others to stand and speak to which many agreed. They each told stories about how Akira helped them, comforted them, or even changed them. With each speaker, Ryuji could feel his body heating and he had to clench his fists - nails biting into his palms - to keep a hot flood of tears from falling freely. Ann and Haru had given up for the most part, letting the large droplets roll down their cheeks. He was fairly certain Futaba was also crying but it was hard to tell with her face buried in Morgana's fur.

Ryuji scanned the room again. While he didn't recognize everyone, he could tell from a glance that none of them were Akira's biological parents. He'd frowned, realizing that was probably the reason Sojiro led the speech in the beginning. The situation made him even angrier. They couldn't even show up for their own child's funeral? Sure, it was hours away from his hometown but he must have meant more to them than that.

Once the final person said their piece, they slowly started to disperse with the service over. Soon, only the remaining Phantom Thieves and Sojiro Sakura were left.

"I'll- uh- let you kids have a minute." The older man replaced his hat on his head and made his way out to the lobby.

Alone in the suffocatingly silent room, the thieves sat in their seats, seemingly afraid to move. Ryuji, ever the impulsive one, stood and walked the few torturous feet to the edge of the casket. Akira's eyes were closed - for once not hidden behind the fake lenses - and his body looked ridged in the stillness of the room. Ryuji leaned over, placing tentative hands on the edge.

"Listen, we know ya ain't dead." His voice came out more strained than he'd planned.

"Yeah, no shit." A single eye of the not-so-dead corpse blinked open and a soft smile pulling on his lips.

Ryuji felt himself deflate in a sigh of relief as the other thieves rushed up next to him. Casually, Akira sat up from his rather uncomfortable laying position in the casket, rubbing one of his sore shoulders.

"Makoto and Sae should be waiting out back." Futaba sniffed, still holding Morgana in her arms.

"Great. We should get going but I could use some help getting out of this thing." The black haired teen rasped, gripping the edge of the casket.

Ryuji and Yusuke gently wrapped their arms around the leader and helped lift him out and onto stable ground. Akira wobbled slightly, trying to disguise a limp as he followed them to the back door.

~~~

Back in Leblanc, the thieves got caught up on the recent events. With Akechi's plan to kill Akira, they had to carefully create a plan to make people believe he was actually dead. However, with the police looking for the body of the infamous leader of the Phantom Thieves, they needed to add a few steps to their plan. Mostly thanks to the help of Sae Niijima, they were able to fool the government and media into believing he'd truly committed suicide in that underground interrogation room. The funeral had been the final touch to hopefully even convince the constantly probing second detective prince.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look like you lost some weight." Ann asked, concerned.

"I'm sure." Akira shrugged, giving his usual dismissive smile.

"Alright then. We should probably head home." Haru suggested.

"Yes, all of this will have been for nothing if Akechi or one of Shido's men begins to suspect something." Makoto stood, ushering most of the thieves out of the quiet cafe.

Futaba had returned home with Sojiro and Morgana, deciding to sleep the whole ordeal off. With the rest of the teenagers leaving to catch the last train home, Ryuji and Akira were the only ones who remained. They sat across from one another at one of the cafe booths in silence.

"Do you want a drink? You can stay if you want." The leader stood, walking over behind the counter to the refrigerator - Ryuji didn't miss the slight limp he was desperately trying to hide all evening.

"What happened to your leg?" He asked as he foregoed dancing around the subject.

Akira paused halfway through opening the fridge door, surprised but quickly recovered with an accepting look replacing it. "Nothing gets past you, huh?"

"Just tell me, Akira." The blond pressed, tone implying he wasn't in the mood to play coy.

Akira sighed, closing the refrigerator and grabbing a damp washcloth on the way back to his seat. As he sat down, he gently rubbed at his wrists and cheeks to reveal dark bruises underneath a layer of pale foundation. Ryuji's eyes were wide, inspecting the wounds, bile welling up in his throat at the sight.

"The interrogators were a bit rough, is all."

"'A bit rough'? 'Kira, have you seen yourself?" Ryuji chastised. "You had to pretend to be dead. You had to attend your own funeral. I had to-"

Akira looked up from the marks on his wrists to see Ryuji's shoulders shaking and hot tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Akira was about to reach up to comfort him when the blond glared at him fiercely.

"Your parents weren't even there, 'Kira! How can you be okay with this?"

The black haired boy looked away, a look of pain and resentment lingering.

"Real or not, I had to go to your funeral and it was awful. I knew you were fine but when I saw ya in that coffin--" Ryuji reached up and pushed the escaped tears away.

Akira didn't look up at the other boy. "I'm sorry."

"And that's the problem, isn't it? Why the hell are you sorry?" Ryuji was almost shouting. "Ya took a bullet for us and you're pretendin' like it's just another day."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." He clarified. "But I'd do it all again if it meant help you guys."

Ryuji's disbelieving laughter came out in huffs due to the collecting tension in the throat. "Damn, Akira."

The leader looked confused but Ryuji was quick to explain.

"I know there isn't anythin' I can say that'll make ya change ya mind." He sighed. "Just… I don't want to ever hafta go to your real funeral."

Akira leaned forward over the table, placing a soft and tender kiss to the blond's forehead just between his eyebrows. "I'll do my best to make sure that never happens."

Ryuji flushed deeply, hand unconsciously reaching up to touch the spot he'd kissed. Akira, slightly pink due to his actions, smiled innocently.

"How fuckin' dare you."

Akira's smile dropped and eyes went wide with concern and fear. "What?"

Ryuji leaned over the table, pulling the other teen in by the shirt and connecting their lips. An extremely shocked Akira slowly caught on, letting the blond control the pace of the kiss while Ryuji focused on memorizing the soft press of his warm body against his and the slight smell of coffee that always seemed to linger. Once they separated, Ryuji huffed, frowning at the other deeply blushing boy.

"If you're gonna kiss me, do it right."

**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering, the prompt was, Persona A attends Persona B's funeral and asks to be alone before leaning over the open casket saying "Okay, listen. I know you're not dead." And Persona B responds with, "Yeah, no shit."
> 
> I think it turned out alright even though I sorta rushed it? I tend to draw out my fics so I try to pull it back with a few shorter ones every now and then.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are always very appreciated!


End file.
